Utica, NY – The Utica College men's tennis team hosted Sage on Tuesday for an Empire 8 battle. The Pioneers pulled out a close win, 5-4, improving to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference this season.
 
Paul Litvak (Brooklyn, NY/Abraham Lincoln), Matt Zbytniewski (Newport, NY/West Canada Valley), and Garrett Bortiatynski (Rome, NY/Holland Patent) all picked up important wins in singles play on the day. Bortiatynski was pushed to the edge in his singles matchup, going into a third set before claiming the match point.
 
Zbytniewski has now won four out of his last five singles competitions, holding a singles record of 4-3 on the season. After the teams split singles competition, 3-3, the round of doubles would decide the winner.
 
Ethan Trembley (Schenectady, NY/La Salle Institute) teamed up with Litvak in the second doubles match, coming away with the decisive 8-2 win. In the third and final match of doubles play, Zbytniewski and Bortiantynski worked together to edge out an 8-4 win to seal the victory for UC.
 
The duo of Zbytniewski and Bortiantynski is 1-0 on the season in doubles, winning their first ever match paired together on the day. Litvak and Trembley have now won three consecutive match points when teaming up for doubles competition.
 
The Pioneers are 2-2 in their last four matches, with two road trips scheduled in the next week. The team is back to work on Sunday for a road matchup with Oswego, starting at 12 p.m.